Playtime with Near
by AkiyukiNishimura
Summary: In his Second Life, Light Yagami visits the Wammy House for the first time. There he meets up with Near, who was a huge rival of his in his previous life. This time he tries to be friends with Near and tries to find out what is beneath Near's emotionless shell. Light x Near, One-shot


**If you are wondering about the second life told in the synopsis, I recommend you read I'm Sorry by MagicMan01, in which was one of the many inspirations for this fanfic. That fanfic also inspired A Second Life and The Other Side, two fanfics I wrote. This pairing is impossible in the original timeline which is why I used the second chance at life from I'm Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: LelouchYagami owns nothing.**

* * *

It was the early afternoon, Light had just spent the night at the Wammy House after a long flight to England followed by a long drive to Winchester. He had never been to the Wammy House before, at least not during his first life. He only heard of it.

In his previous life, the Wammy House was home to his rivals L, Near and Mello. He never really met Mello and L comforted him before he died, so it was only Near that he wasn't sure about. He quickly became friends with L in this life when L invited him to join him in his investigation team. Light really enjoyed working with L.

Light regretted being Kira, in fact, he hated the fact that he even was Kira. It was Kira that had ruined his previous life and had given him a premature death. He was disgusted with the actions he took and the fact that he enjoyed them. His mind was polluted by the corrupting power of the Death Note and all Light was happy about now was that there was no Death Note in this life, his second life. He didn't know how he got this second chance at life and he didn't even think he deserved it, but Light wanted to live the best life he could now and this was his opportunity. In his previous life he may have been an asshole, but in this life he could prove that he wasn't one hundred percent a dick.

To be fair he thought nobody was one hundred percent a dick and he respected every life now. He didn't want to commit murder anymore and he hoped he would never commit it again, not even if it was self defense. He did, though, still suffer from nightmares that manifested because of the events of his previous life. These nightmares ranged from how he was as Kira, to the Yellow Box incident to events that were victories to him during the time he was Kira.

Light was taking a tour of the Wammy House today with Watari as his tour guide. He had already met and hung out with Mello and Matt. Near was the only person left to meet for today? Tomorrow he was going to meet Linda, A, and BB.

Light was afraid to meet Near again, even though he knew it was going to be a bit different. It wasn't the fact that Near had ended his reign as Kira, he was actually happy about that now. It was the fact that Near didn't have the heart of gold that L did, he didn't care about anybody. He wanted the case solved but instead of simply catching Kira he wanted to humiliate him.

L was different. He had developed feelings for Light that prevented him from finishing the case. He loved Light but didn't want him to be Kira. In the end, L simply let himself be killed so someone else could solve the case.

It was time for Light to meet Near as Watari guided Light to Near's room.

When they opened the door a song was playing.

It was Pure Imagination.

"Near could you turn the music down, someone wants to meet you." Watari called out.

"Okay, Okay, I will" Near said, Light noticed his emotionless shell. He rarely played with others and he rarely showed his feelings.

Near turned off the album and gave it to Watari, he knew earlier that Mello wanted to listen to this soundtrack, so he didn't mind giving it to someone else for later.

"And you are?" Near said looking at Light.

"My name is Light Yagami, I have been working with L recently and I'm afraid we haven't met before." Light said. He knew they had met before, just not in this lifetime.

"Come in, I haven't had a guest in a while." Near said.

It was then that Light said to himself "Ah my old rival".

"You're old what?" Near said back surprised. Near must have overheard what Light was whispering.

"Nothing, nothing" Light said back a bit nervous.

There was a puzzle on the floor. Near was just finishing it.

"So what do you want to do?" Light said.

"I don't really know at the moment, maybe you could give us something to do." Near said back.

Light looked around the room and found a huge book collection by Near, ranging from children's books to educational books. "Maybe you could show me your book collection." Light said.

Near had a slight smile, it wasn't the creepy one he gave at the Yellow Box Warehouse but more of a happy smile. "I'm okay with that" Near said "I would particularly like to show you the books I grew up with."

Light smiled. When he was Kira, his smiles (when they weren't evil) weren't genuine, this was the first genuine smile he gave to Near. In this life, this was the first time he had a genuine friendship with a Wammy House resident that wasn't L. For L he had been friends with during the Yotsuba case which flew out the window when he got his memory back. In this life he became friends with Mello and Matt this morning and he had been friends with L for about a year now.

It was time for Near to show Light his book collection and he was really happy to show him the first three books he had read as a kid. They were John the Fisherman, Tommy the Cat and Nature Boy, all written by Les Clayman. Other books from his childhood included Behind the Walls of Sleep by Tom Iommi and The Jack by Bonnie Scout. After showing Light the books he grew up with, Near showed Light the books he was reading now.

These books were a lot more complicated, they ranged from the most complex adult book to a study on criminology. If Near wanted to be L's successor by the time L retired, he would need to know all this information.

Light interaction with Near today was very soft and kind, the complete opposite from how he was in his previous life. Near may still have his emotionless shell but he was a lot kinder than he was in his previous life with no Kira case or L's death to set him off.

He then showed Light his Where's Wally book. "This was the first book they gave me here for training, it was the first book I really needed to start using my brain. Now it is as easy as cake, but it is still a lot of fun." Near said.

"I do have to ask" Light said. "Why don't you hang out with Mello and Matt that often."

"Matt is a guy who acts like life is a party. That's not really who I am. I don't express myself as much as he does and all the previous times I hung out with him he seemed disappointed. I am still a good friend with him, I just don't hang out with him that much." Near said back.

Near continued to talk. "I do hang out with Linda the most, which you will see tomorrow, I actually want to be the one to introduce her to you."

Near then started to talk about Mello. "Mello and I have a bit of a history. We started out as good friends and we still are but our encounters got less and less frequent the more competitive Mello got through the years. Eventually I just stopped hanging out with him and started doing things more on my own. Mello was a bit of a sore loser and he has gotten more and more frustrated when I started winning against him more and more often."

Mello was a sore loser, just like Light was at the end of his previous life. Light was a bit surprised at Near's answers. They were a bit different from what he expected from him. Near has had friends before but not as caring as Light was to him today.

It was then that Near asked Light. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Hmm" Light said "How about a game of chess."

"That would be great" Near said with a slight showing of excitement but still with little emotion. "I would like to warn you that I am a master at this game."

"That is great to hear" Light said. "I am a master at this game as well."

This was a very long chess game, in fact it took more than 3 hours to complete. Light and Near were both very good at strategy and there were many stalemates in this game. Both Light and Near took different approaches. Both wanted to win the game. Light never won against Near at anything before. The previous game Light played with Near wasn't really a game at all, it was a matter of life and death. Now Light was playing a game with Near with no consequences at all, except his reaction which could damage their possible friendship.

"Checkmate, Light" Near said after about an hour of playing.

It was then that Light fell over scared, bad memories of his previous encounter with Near came back. "Light Yagami, L, Kira, It's over, you've just lost the game". That day, January 28th, the memories were as painful as ever as it took Light a few minutes to calm down. It was then that Near got concerned and came to comfort Light. "Light" he said in a concerned voice "What is wrong".

"Bad memories" Light said back.

"Of what" Near said?

Light then stopped. "I don't want to talk about it".

"L had told me about this" Near said. "He never told me what they were about, but he said that he was the only person you were comfortable talking about them with."

Light had brought up these with L, not after they met again at Space Land but when he started working with him after he graduated High School. They weren't frequent but they still came up enough for them to be a concern. His parents didn't know about them. Not even his sister Sayu knew about these memories. For all the lies Light told in his previous life, in this life he only lied about one thing, the behavior concerning his previous life.

Near comforted Light for a few minutes, he wasn't expecting such weird behavior out of Light, but he enjoyed being with Light and was concerned about him. Light was okay now, he decided to put the chess board away, maybe another day they would play. Near decided to get his Jego set out for him and Light to play.

"Hey want to build a castle with me?" Near said, still having a concerned voice.

"That would be great." Light said.

Near and Light took another hour to complete what they were building. Near worked on the exterior while Light worked on the interior. They took turns on each of them and enjoyed building a lot. The castle was big and complex, at least 5000 pieces, and Light had the honor of putting it away.

It was dinner time. Near had an earlier dinner than most people at the Wammy House. L had a late dinner, Mello and Matt had their dinner together after that. Near brought a few toys for both of them to play with while his dinner was cooking, he asked to make another batch for Light. Near also was the only one at the Whammy House who never left his room for dinner. Even L ate dinner in a different room.

Light was wondering what Near would have for dinner. Each Wammy House kid had their own favorite food that they ate nonstop. L had sweets, Mello had chocolate, Matt smoked a lot but he mostly ate BBQ. Light assumed, that Near would be eating would be his own toys, this thought disgusted Light and he hoped it wasn't true. Even he was making healthier food choices, sure he would eat pizza now and again but he rarely ate potato chips as much as he used to. He ate a lot of potato chips in his previous life but now that he wasn't evil anymore Light thought he should eat a diet that reflected on how much he has changed.

It was time to see what Near's diet was when their dinner came to Near's room. It was lobster, scallops and Mahi Mahi. Light found it surprising that Near's diet was seafood and he couldn't wait to chomp it down. "Don't forget to give us seconds if we are still hungry" Near said.

It was this time that Near's emotionless shell was starting to go away. Near always had a heart of gold like L. he just rarely had to opportunity to show it. Light and Near enjoyed their meal very much and thought it was great. Light rarely had seafood as he knew how expensive it was. Even so he really liked this type of food. He was able to experience the large number of cuisines from the Wammy House in his first visit. Light really wished he didn't go in the direction he went in his previous life, so he could have experienced this beforehand. He always cared about people but the Death Note had turned his selfless desires into selfish desires. When Ryuk killed him, he wished that the notebook had never existed and while Light really enjoyed living this life, he wished that he never made those mistakes to begin with so he could still be living his old life.

The dinner was accompanied by a movie. It was an old thriller from the 1950's. Light was definitely happy to see more diverse things in this life. Near always had a movie with him, in case dinner was boring by itself. He was more of a fan of old movies than new movies. On the other hand Light found out that L was a big fan of spy fiction, Mello liked Gangster movies and Matt was a big comic book fan.

While in his previous life, Light was the villain. This life was his opportunity to finally be the hero he wanted to be. The Death Note had made him oblivious to all the wrongs he did and he didn't find out until the day he died. This life gave him hope definitely but he was the most happy that he could see everybody he knew again. He was able to see Misa again and he developed care and respect for her that he didn't previously have. He met Mikami again and helped him out with law and order and actually rehabilitated Mikami so he wasn't so black and white with his point of view. He met Takada again and is hoping on marrying her in a few years. He has yet to meet Raye and Naomi Penber (they recently married) again neither anybody else L worked with. Light probably wouldn't meet any members of the SPK in this life other than Near because the SPK will never form in this lifetime. He was happy to meet the people from his previous life. He was ecstatic to meet his father again and he couldn't be happier to see his sister as a young teenager again.

The movie was about three hours long and it was bedtime by the time it was over. Light's time with Near wasn't over yet, he still had tomorrow to be with Near and now Linda. Of course meeting Near again was important to Light and now he had all the time in the world.

They both said goodnight and went to bed. Light slept in a room next to L's and a few rooms away from Matt. L and Mello both slept on different floors. The orphanage was pretty big and Light was more than happy to help out in this place with cooking, cleaning and being friends to others. This lifetime was all about rebuilding his reputation and he was more than happy to get a new reputation with the Whammy Kids, especially Near.

* * *

Light slept for about eight hours, which was how long he usually slept. L slept for 4 hours, Mello slept for 7 hours. Matt slept for 6 hours and Near slept for 10 hours. It was just how they lived their lives.

Bedtime was when the nightmares were most frequent but they have gotten better in the recent months. Light always wants to let go of the past but he can never completely. He is taking his life in the right direction, to value both his and others lives. Light did hope on a few things in this life, the first was to never pick up a Death Note, not even out of curiosity, the second was to never murder again, and the third was to never encounter another god of death, no exceptions, even if it was a kind one like Rem (who he had killed), he didn't want to encounter another one. Death Gods had ruined his previous life and he didn't want any of them to interfere with this life, like they did in his previous life.

On the following day, Light woke up early to exercise in the gym. For about an hour he was walking on the treadmill, he was also watching the news to see if there was a crime for him and L to tackle.

Around this time, L usually went to the library to read a book. L is a very fast reader being able to finish long stories within a quick period of time. The trip to the Whammy House was their break from working on cases. L and Light had been working on several cases in the past few months. Light was expected to be at the Whammy House for at least two weeks afterwards. He and L would return to Japan if there wasn't any major crime to investigate within those two weeks.

Everybody else was sleeping as they all had specific wake up times. Light rarely ended his bedtime early for anything, but in this life he was doing it a bit more often because he was more anxious to do things that he had missed out on.

When breakfast came, everybody ate together; it was the only meal of the day that everybody ate together. L had a seat next to Light, Mello was on the other side of the table, Linda was on the far right, Matt was on the far left and Near sat next to L.

This time of the day was when Light was at his most talkative. He wanted to talk about a lot of things with these people, especially because he never had an opportunity to be properly friendly with them in his previous life.

"So how long have you known each other?" Light asked Near and Mello.

"About at least 10 years, maybe a little bit less" Near said.

"Wait a minute I thought I first saw you several years after I arrived here" Mello argued.

"Well maybe my memory isn't very good" Near yelled angrily.

"I have known you two for at least five years" L interrupted. "I was the one to give you guys books on detective work as a whole. I do have to ask, how far is your progress?"

"What do you mean" Mello said. "We are more than worthy of being your successor L"

"I meant how have you progressed through the books so far? I gave you guys a lot of books." L said.

"About half way through all of them" Near said

"About a quarter of the way through, remember we have our free time as well" Mello said.

" Lets say I was the criminal. What would you guys do with me?" Light asked while at the same time keeping his previous life secret.

"Isn't that obvious, we would catch you." Both Near and Mello said at the same time.

L then whispered in Light's ear. "Light, the fact that your were Kira is only a thing that you and I talk about. If you bring it up with anybody else, they will think you are cuckoo crazy."

Light then whispered back at L. "I know I was just asking a question, I didn't bring it up at all."

"Bring up what" Near said, he must have overheard them again. "Uh, how much fun our previous investigation was" Light lied.

"Crime is not fun and games." Mello argued.

"We know" Light and L said together.

"We just got to know each other real well" Light said.

"What was the case you guys solved, you haven't told us yet." Matt said, he was playing his gamechild.

"We caught a serial rapist." Light said. "His name was Takou Shibuimaru, it is estimated his gang targeted about 100 women before he caught him."

"He is being tried right now. It is predicted that he is going to face the death penalty, but it hasn't been confirmed yet." L said.

"I am hoping for a life in prison sentence for him, we are told not to intervene with the court case, but we are looking for a fitting punishment that isn't cruel or unusual." Light said. "Even if he doesn't get the death penalty immediately, he will probably be on death row until they the case can fully be closed."

"Why are you hoping for life in prison, Light? With a crime that severe, he deserves death." Matt said.

"There are worse punishments than death" Light said back, thinking of how much suffering he got at the Yellow Box Warehouse that he deserved. Even then Light thought Ryuk was doing him a kindness at the end of his previous life. With all the despair he experienced that day, he would just want it all the end, death or not.

Near then smiled. "Light is right actually, I would actually want more therapists at prison. We need to know more about criminals psychologically."

Light then smiled back. "I think if we can understand everything that drives people to commit crimes, we can have not just a better justice system but a lower crime rate." Even now the only thing Light agreed with Kira on was that the world can be a better place. Even then he didn't want to see anymore death and suffering, especially because he caused so much.

Light understood what drove him. He was motivated to make a better world when he discovered the power of the Death Note. He thought the thing could be used for good. He wanted Kira to control the legal system so there could be no more crime, but the corrupting power of the Death Note gave him a lust for power as he started killing more than just criminals. The Death Note also blinded him from seeing what exactly was wrong with Kira. He didn't discover what the Death Note did to him, until the day he died and even then, it was in his last few minutes of life.

Maybe this new life is redemption, maybe it was made to make Light happy again. Whatever it was Light had the opportunity to finally live a good life, something the Death Note took away from him.

There was a wide variety of food for breakfast, from sausage and pancakes to bagels with lox. One thing that was known about the Wammy Kids is that they had a big appetite just like he did. There were also many chefs here to feed the 100+ kids.

* * *

Breakfast lasted about an hour with all the conversations going on. Afterwards Light and Near went to Near's room to have another game of chess, this time Light won. This was the first time Light had won against Near in anything and he was extremely happy.. Even then he kept a lot of the happiness to himself, so he wouldn't derive too much suspicion. Light and Near then finished a 500 piece puzzle.

It was then that they went to Linda's room. Linda was Near's best friend and he was more than happy to introduce her to Light.

"This is my best friend Linda." Near said to Light. "We have known each other for at least 5 years."

"My name is Light Yagami." Light said to Linda as he shook her hand.

"I have heard of you, Light" Linda said. "You are a relatively new detective and I have heard on the news that you are one of the best."

"Do you like detectives?" Light said

"I read about them all the time." Linda said back. "L is currently the world's greatest detective and you could rank along with him within a few years, based on how fast you guys have been solving cases together. I have read a lot of mystery and detective novels. They have been very interesting, especially Sherlock Holmes."

"Sherlock Holmes?" Light said.

"I highly recommend you read those books, especially with your interest in criminology" Linda said.

"So are we gonna play or not?" Near said a bit rude, he was a lot nicer in this life, but that didn't mean he wasn't still rude at times.

"How about we let Linda pick." Light said. "I think it would be fair."

"I am thinking about playing Battleship" Linda said.

"But that is only for two people."Light complained, of the many games Light played when he was a young boy, Battleship was among the most recognizable. It made him use his brain, which was why he liked it so much. In his previous life, Light used strategies from the games he played as a kid to help him advance as Kira later in his life. All the things he was good at made it easy to hide his secret as Kira. He lied about almost everything after he got the Death Note, and all those lies came back to him by the end. Now in this life, he only lied to hide the secret of his previous life, mostly because nobody would believe him and they would think he was crazy.

"Not the one Linda owns." Near said happily. "She has three player Battleship."

"That sounds great" Light said.

Light, Near and Linda played Battleship for as long as they could. For the few hours they would spend together today, Linda had full control of what games they would play. Near and Linda had heavy interest in what L and Light were doing while they were gone from the Whammy House, whether it was detective work, or being with family. They always wanted to know what they were doing out there.

After playtime with Near and Linda was over, Light went outside to see L standing near the doorway. "He is a tough cookie to crack, Light, and I am happy you finally broke through" L said.

"It is just that I am really good at being social. Remember when we met for the first time in this life? I knew that our friendship would be easy." Light said.

"But you didn't really know Near" L said. "You had about two months to get to really and truly get to know me when you lost your memories, but Near, you only met face to face once before and I know how much you don't like talking about January 28th."

"I know" Light said with a smile "But Near's problems are just like yours when it comes to being social. You both lack friends because people really don't get to understand you.T is how we became friends during the Yotsuba case. I started to understand you and see what was truly under your anti social mask."

"But you didn't like me accusing you that you were Kira" L said with a smile.

"Well I wasn't Kira at the time, and I won't do any acts like that anymore. You are the only one who understands" Light said

"As I am the only other person who retains the memory of their previous life." L said. "Well I have to go in a minute. Watari is making lunch for me and I shouldn't be late."

L started to walk away, but stopped to ask Light one more question. "Hey Light, I hope you find an interesting case by the end of the week, I really want to go back on the front-lines soon."

"I have found at least 5 so far, we can narrow it down later" Light said. L called his detective work the front-lines sometimes and Light found out early in this new life that L only worked on cases he was personally interested in, which surprised Light at first but he became more comfortable with it later on.

* * *

After dinner, Light invited Near to the game room with Mello, Matt, L and Linda. He planned this particularly for Near so he could get to know Mello and Matt better.

"So did you call us here to play games?" Matt asked.

"Yes" Light said. "But it is also for social hour, I had Watari set it up all by himself, I think we should have a night of fun. what do you think?"

"I am all for it" Mello said. It was then at that moment that they all ran for the games.

Before Near found his game the play. Light came up to him and told him something "I did this all for you. I even had Watari make some rules for the games, you never played fair with Mello and Matt before. This is your opportunity"

"You did this all for me?" Near said surprised "Why"

"Because I feel you have the opportunity to be real friends with Mello and Matt" Light said.

"That sounds great" Near said "Thanks"

It was at that moment that Near came to join Mello and Matt with their racing video game. Light stood there smiling, he was truly happy with this life. He finally got the opportunity to live a good life and not waste the opportunity but it wasn't just that. He was able to make friends with people he never thought he would make before and get to know these people more. He had the opportunity to be with his family more as well as with his friends. He was happy he could finally live his dream of being a great detective like his father.

Whatever this life was, it was nothing but better for him. Sure the déjà vu felt strange but this life is what he needed. This was the life Kira took away from him.

Sure this Near was different from the Near he previously knew, but he was happy with it. Sure he was competitive with Near in his previous life, and Near was the one who helped him realize just who he was, but that Near was a nightmare he didn't want to live again. This Near had a heart of gold which was something Light had been wondering about ever since he came to this life. Near wasn't an enemy anymore, he was a friend in the making and he couldn't wait to be with Near more in the future.

The Wammy House was a place that Light wanted to come back to as many times as he could. After his next case with L, Light was planning on returning home with his family. But now, it was time to hang out with the Whammy Kids and get to know them like he never did before.


End file.
